New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission will revisit the issue of hunting bobcats when it meets this week.

The commission will meet at 1 p.m. Wednesday at department headquarters in Concord on Hazen Drive. The bobcat issue on the agenda as an action item entitled "bobcat discussion"

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The commission heard earlier this year from biologists about the increasing number of bobcats in the state but members had a number of questions and took no action.

The animal has been protected since 1989, when its numbers dwindled.

There are no known numbers of how many bobcats existed in the state in the 1980s, but department officials said they believe that there may now be enough growth in the population to support a limited hunt.

Pat Tate, a biologist for the department, said the population is now estimated at 1,400 to 2,200 animals.

The population is growing at 134 animals per year, and the commission was told in January that about 77 animals could be taken a year.

The Humane Society of the United States is urging a vote against the proposed hunt.

"They are shy and elusive creatures that typically go out of their way to avoid people. We believe there is no need for a trapping and hounding season on these animals that are only slightly larger than the average house cat. Many trappers and houndsmen will exploit bobcats to make a quick buck off of selling their pelts to overseas markets in Russia and China, and we believe the commission shouldn’t cave to these special interests," said Naseem Amini, a spokesman for the national organization.

If a majority votes to have a hunting season for bobcats, the next step would be to define rules of the season and have public hearings.

This year, the legislature voted to make the bobcat the state's official wildcat, at the urging of students from the Well School in Peterborough.